77 Treffer

Epoxy belongs to a category of high-performance thermosetting polymers which have been used extensively in industrial and consumer applications. Highly cross-linked epoxy polymers offer excellent mechanical properties, adhesion, and chemical resistance. However, unmodified epoxies are prone to brittle fracture and crack propagation due to their highly crosslinked structure. As a result, epoxies are normally toughened to ensure the usability of these materials in practical applications.
This research work focuses on the development of novel modified epoxy matrices, with enhanced mechanical, fracture mechanical and thermal properties, suitable to be processed by filament winding technology, to manufacture composite based calender roller covers with improved performance in comparison to commercially available products.
In the first stage, a neat epoxy resin (EP) was modified using three different high functionality epoxy resins with two type of hardeners i.e. amine-based (H1) and anhydride-based (H2). Series of hybrid epoxy resins were obtained by systematic variation of high functionality epoxy resin contents with reference epoxy system. The resulting matrices were characterized by their tensile properties and the best system was chosen from each hardener system i.e. amine and anhydride. For tailored amine based system (MEP_H1) 14 % improvement was measured for bulk samples similarly, for tailored anhydride system (MEP_H2) 11 % improvement was measured when tested at 23 °C.
Further, tailored epoxy systems (MEP_H1 and MEP_H2) were modified using specially designed block copolymer (BCP), and core-shell rubber nanoparticles (CSR). Series of nanocomposites were obtained by systematic variation of filler contents. The resulting matrices were extensively characterized qualitatively and quantitatively to reveal the effect of each filler on the polymer properties. It was shown that the BCP confer better fracture properties to the epoxy resin at low filler loading without losing the other mechanical properties. These characteristics were accompanied by ductility and temperature stability. All composites were tested at 23 °C and at 80 °C to understand the effect of temperature on the mechanical and fracture properties.
Examinations on fractured specimen surfaces provided information about the mechanisms responsible for reinforcement. Nanoparticles generate several energy dissipating mechanisms in the epoxy, e.g. plastic deformation of the matrix, cavitation, void growth, debonding and crack pinning. These were closely related to the microstructure of the materials. The characteristic of the microstructure was verified by microscopy methods (SEM and AFM). The microstructure of neat epoxy hardener system was strongly influenced by the nanoparticles and the resulting interfacial interactions. The interaction of nanoparticles with a different hardener system will result in different morphology which will ultimately influence the mechanical and fracture mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Hybrid toughening using a combination of the block-copolymer / core-shell rubber nanoparticles and block copolymer / TiO2 nanoparticles has been investigated in the epoxy systems. It was found out that addition of rigid phase with a soft phase recovers the loss of strength in the nanocomposites caused by a softer phase.
In order to clarify the relevant relationships, the microstructural and mechanical properties were correlated. The Counto’s, Halpin-Tsai, and Lewis-Nielsen equations were used to calculate the modulus of the composites and predicted modulus fit well with the measured values. Modeling was done to predict the toughening contribution from block copolymers and core-shell rubber nanoparticles. There was good agreement between the predicted values and the experimental values for the fracture energy.

The present situation of control engineering in the context of automated production can be described as a tension field between its desired outcome and its actual consideration. On the one hand, the share of control engineering compared to the other engineering domains has significantly increased within the last decades due to rising automation degrees of production processes and equipment. On the other hand, the control engineering domain is still underrepresented within the production engineering process. Another limiting factor constitutes a lack of methods and tools to decrease the amount of software engineering efforts and to permit the development of innovative automation applications that ideally support the business requirements.
This thesis addresses this challenging situation by means of the development of a new control engineering methodology. The foundation is built by concepts from computer science to promote structuring and abstraction mechanisms for the software development. In this context, the key sources for this thesis are the paradigm of Service-oriented Architecture and concepts from Model-driven Engineering. To mold these concepts into an integrated engineering procedure, ideas from Systems Engineering are applied. The overall objective is to develop an engineering methodology to improve the efficiency of control engineering by a higher adaptability of control software and decreased programming efforts by reuse.

In this thesis viscoelastic material models are established to investigate the nature of continuous calving processes at Antarctic ice shelves. Physics-based descriptions of calving require appropriate fracture criteria to separate icebergs from the remaining ice shelf. Hence, criteria of the stress, the strain, and the self-similarity criterion are considered within finite-element computations. Crucial parameters in the models to determine the position of calving are the accurate knowledge of the geometry, especially the freeboard height, while the material parameters mainly influence the time span between two successive calving events. The extension to nonlinear material models is necessary to properly analyze the internal forces also for large deformations that occur for longer times of the viscous ice flow.

The present work focuses on the structure-property relationships of
particulate-filled thermoplastics and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). In this work
two thermoplastics and one TPE were used as polymer matrices, i.e. amorphous
bisphenol-A polycarbonate (PC), semi-crystalline isotactic polypropylene (iPP),
and a block copolymer poly(butylene terephthalate)-block-poly(tetramethylene
glycol) TPE(PBT-PTMG). For PC, a selected type of various Aerosil® nano-SiO2
types was used as filler to improve the thermal and mechanical properties by
maintaining the transparency of PC matrix. Different types of SiO2 and TiO2
nanoparticles with different surface polarity were used for iPP. The goal was to
examine the influence of surface polarity and chemical nature of nanoparticles on
the thermal, mechanical and morphological properties of iPP composites. For
TPE(PBT-PTMG), three TiO2 particles were used, i.e. one grade with hydroxyl
groups on the particle surface and the other two grades are surface-modified with
metal and metal oxides, respectively. The influence of primary size and dispersion
quality of TiO2 particles on the properties of TPE(PBT-PTMG)/TiO2 composites
were determined and discussed.
All polymer composites were produced by direct melt blending in a twin-screw
extruder via masterbatch technique. The dispersion of particles was examined by
using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro-computerized tomography
(μCT). The thermal and crystalline properties of polymer composites were characterized by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC). The mechanical and thermomechanical properties
were determined by using mechanical tensile testing, compact tension and
Charpy impact as well as dynamic-mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA).
The SEM results show that the unpolar-surface modified nanoparticles are better
dispersed in polymer matrices as iPP than polar-surface nanoparticles, especially
in case of using Aeroxide® TiO2 nanoparticles. The Aeroxide® TiO2 nanoparticles
with a polar surface due to Ti-OH groups result in a very high degree of
agglomeration in both iPP and TPE matrices because of strong van der Waals
interactions among particles (hydrogen bonding). Compared to unmodified
Aeroxide® TiO2 nanoparticles, the other grades of surface modified TiO2 particles
are very homogenously dispersed in used iPP and TPE(PBT-PTMG). The
incorporation of SiO2 nanoparticles into bisphenol-A PC significantly increases
the mechanical properties of PC/SiO2 nanocomposites, particularly the resistance
against environmental stress crazing (ESC). However, the transparency of
PC/SiO2 nanocomposites decreases with increasing nanoparticle content and
size due to a mismatch of infractive indices of PC and SiO2 particles. The different
surface polarity of nanoparticles in iPP shows evident influence on properties of
iPP composites. Among iPP/SiO2 nanocomposites, the nanocomposite
containing SiO2 nanoparticles with a higher degree of hydrophobicity shows
improved fracture and impact toughness compared to the other iPP/SiO2
composites. The TPE(PBT-PTMG)/TiO2 composites show much better thermal and mechanical properties than neat TPE(PBT-PTMG) due to strong chemical
interactions between polymer matrix and TiO2 particles. In addition, better
dispersion quality of TiO2 particles in used TPE(PBT-PTMG) leads to dramatically
improved mechanical properties of TPE(PBT-PTMG)/TiO2 composites.

Nanotechnology is now recognized as one of the most promising areas for technological
development in the 21st century. In materials research, the development of
polymer nanocomposites is rapidly emerging as a multidisciplinary research activity
whose results could widen the applications of polymers to the benefit of many different
industries. Nanocomposites are a new class of composites that are particle-filled
polymers for which at least one dimension of the dispersed particle is in the nanometer
range. In the related area polymer/clay nanocomposites have attracted considerable
interest because they often exhibit remarkable property improvements when
compared to virgin polymer or conventional micro- and macro- composites.
The present work addresses the toughening and reinforcement of thermoplastics via
a novel method which allows us to achieve micro- and nanocomposites. In this work
two matrices are used: amorphous polystyrene (PS) and semi-crystalline polyoxymethylene
(POM). Polyurethane (PU) was selected as the toughening agent for POM
and used in its latex form. It is noteworthy that the mean size of rubber latices is
closely matched with that of conventional toughening agents, impact modifiers.
Boehmite alumina and sodium fluorohectorite (FH) were used as reinforcements.
One of the criteria for selecting these fillers was that they are water swellable/
dispersible and thus their nanoscale dispersion can be achieved also in aqueous
polymer latex. A systematic study was performed on how to adapt discontinuousand
continuous manufacturing techniques for the related nanocomposites.
The dispersion of nanofillers was characterized by transmission, scanning electron
and atomic force microcopy (TEM, SEM and AFM respectively), X-ray diffraction
(XRD) techniques, and discussed. The crystallization of POM was studied by means
of differential scanning calorimetry and polarized light optical microscopy (DSC and
PLM, respectively). The mechanical and thermomechanical properties of the composites
were determined in uniaxial tensile, dynamic-mechanical thermal analysis
(DMTA), short-time creep tests, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
PS composites were produced first by a discontinuous manufacturing technique,
whereby FH or alumina was incorporated in the PS matrix by melt blending with and
without latex precompounding of PS latex with the nanofiller. It was found that direct melt mixing (DM) of the nanofillers with PS resulted in micro-, whereas the latex mediated
pre-compounding (masterbatch technique, MB) in nanocomposites. FH was
not intercalated by PS when prepared by DM. On the other hand, FH was well dispersed
(mostly intercalated) in PS via the PS latex-mediated predispersion of FH following
the MB route. The nanocomposites produced by MB outperformed the DM
compounded microcomposites in respect to properties like stiffness, strength and
ductility based on dynamic-mechanical and static tensile tests. It was found that the
resistance to creep (summarized in master curves) of the nanocomposites were improved
compared to those of the microcomposites. Master curves (creep compliance
vs. time), constructed based on isothermal creep tests performed at different temperatures,
showed that the nanofiller reinforcement affects mostly the initial creep
compliance.
Next, ternary composites composed of POM, PU and boehmite alumina were produced
by melt blending with and without latex precompounding. Latex precompounding
served for the predispersion of the alumina particles. The related MB was produced
by mixing the PU latex with water dispersible boehmite alumina. The composites
produced by the MB technique outperformed the DM compounded composites in
respect to most of the thermal and mechanical characteristics.
Toughened and/or reinforced PS- and POM-based composites have been successfully
produced by a continuous extrusion technique, too. This technique resulted in
good dispersion of both nanofillers (boehmite) and impact modifier (PU). Compared
to the microcomposites obtained by conventional DM, the nanofiller dispersion became
finer and uniform when using the water-mediated predispersion. The resulting
structure markedly affected the mechanical properties (stiffness and creep resistance)
of the corresponding composites. The impact resistance of POM was highly
enhanced by the addition of PU rubber when manufactured by the continuous extrusion
manufacturing technique. This was traced to the dispersed PU particle size being
in the range required from conventional, impact modifiers.

In recent years the field of polymer tribology experienced a tremendous development
leading to an increased demand for highly sophisticated in-situ measurement methods.
Therefore, advanced measurement techniques were developed and established
in this study. Innovative approaches based on dynamic thermocouple, resistive electrical
conductivity, and confocal distance measurement methods were developed in
order to in-situ characterize both the temperature at sliding interfaces and real contact
area, and furthermore the thickness of transfer films. Although dynamic thermocouple
and real contact area measurement techniques were already used in similar
applications for metallic sliding pairs, comprehensive modifications were necessary to
meet the specific demands and characteristics of polymers and composites since
they have significantly different thermal conductivities and contact kinematics. By using
tribologically optimized PEEK compounds as reference a new measurement and
calculation model for the dynamic thermocouple method was set up. This method
allows the determination of hot spot temperatures for PEEK compounds, and it was
found that they can reach up to 1000 °C in case of short carbon fibers present in the
polymer. With regard to the non-isotropic characteristics of the polymer compound,
the contact situation between short carbon fibers and steel counterbody could be
successfully monitored by applying a resistive measurement method for the real contact
area determination. Temperature compensation approaches were investigated
for the transfer film layer thickness determination, resulting in in-situ measurements
with a resolution of ~0.1 μm. In addition to a successful implementation of the measurement
systems, failure mechanism processes were clarified for the PEEK compound
used. For the first time in polymer tribology the behavior of the most interesting
system parameters could be monitored simultaneously under increasing load
conditions. It showed an increasing friction coefficient, wear rate, transfer film layer
thickness, and specimen overall temperature when frictional energy exceeded the
thermal transport capabilities of the specimen. In contrast, the real contact area between
short carbon fibers and steel decreased due to the separation effect caused by
the transfer film layer. Since the sliding contact was more and more matrix dominated,
the hot spot temperatures on the fibers dropped, too. The results of this failure
mechanism investigation already demonstrate the opportunities which the new
measurement techniques provide for a deeper understanding of tribological processes,
enabling improvements in material composition and application design.

Sewn net-shape preform based composite manufacturing technology is widely
accepted in combination with liquid composite molding technologies for the
manufacturing of fiber reinforced polymer composites. The development of threedimensional
dry fibrous reinforcement structures containing desired fiber orientation
and volume fraction before the resin infusion is based on the predefined preforming
processes. Various preform manufacturing aspects influence the overall composite
manufacturing processes. Sewing technology used for the preform manufacturing
has number of challenges to overcome which includes consistency in preform quality,
composite quality, and composite mechanical properties.
Experimental studies are undertaken to investigate the influence of various sewing
parameters on the preform manufacturing processes, preform quality, and the fiber
reinforced polymer composite quality and properties. Sewing thread, sewing machine
parameters, shortcomings of sewing process, and remedies are explained according
to their importance during preforming and liquid composite molding. The stitches and
fiber free zone in the form of ellipse that are generated in the thickness direction were
investigated by evaluating the laminate micrographs. Correlation between ellipse
formation phenomenon, sewing thread, and sewing machine parameters is
established. A statistical tool, analysis of variance, was used to emphasize the major
preform processing factors influencing the preform imperfections.
For assessing the preform quality, the observations of sewing thread requirements
for preform and structural sewing were well documented during the experimental
studies and explained according to their significance in the composite processing.
Furthermore, selection criteria for sewing thread according to end application are
discussed in detail. Investigations on polyester sewing thread as a high speed
preform manufacturing element are also performed. Applicability of polyester sewing
thread for the preform sewing and challenges to be overcome for its extensive
utilization in the composite components are explained. Apart from this, influence of
physical structure of sewing thread on the laminate quality and properties are
explained and relationship between them is discussed in brief. Furthermore,
challenges caused due to applied spin-finishes and sizing and remedies for the same
are discussed. Sewing threads made of high performance fibers that are available in the market,
e.g., carbon, glass, and Zylon are studied for effect of thread material on through-thethickness
laminate properties. Threads made up of carbon or glass fibers are very
rigid and produces number of defects, which is a major cause of concern. Optimized
sewing procedure has been implemented to minimize the in-plane and through-thethickness
imperfections and to improve mechanical properties and surface
characteristics of composite laminate.
Preform sewing process and final ready to impregnate preforms were analyzed for
quality appearance. The sewing defects and their influence on composite structure
are monitored. Preform compressibility before and after the sewing operations are
intensively studied and correlation with sewing parameters is developed. Influence of
sewing process parameters on the warpage and change in preform area weight are
also explained in detail. Results of analytical experiments can help to improve further
exploitation of sewn preforms for composite manufacturing and overall preform and
laminate quality.

Induction welding is a technique for joining of thermoplastic composites. An alternating
electromagnetic field is used for contact-free and fast heating of the parts to be
welded. In case of a suitable reinforcement structure heat generation occurs directly
in the laminate with complete heating in thickness direction in the vicinity of the coil.
The resulting temperature field is influenced by the distance to the induction coil with
decreasing temperature for increasing distance. Consequently, the surface facing the
inductor yields the highest, the opposite surface the lowest temperature.
The temperature field described significantly complicates the welding process. Due to
complete heating the laminate has to be loaded with pressure in order to prevent delamination,
which requires the usage of complex and expensive welding tools. Additionally,
the temperature difference between the inductor and the opposite side may
be greater than the processing window, which is determined by the properties of the
matrix polymer.
The induction welding process is influenced by numerous parameters. Due to complexity
process development is mainly based on experimental studies. The investigation
of parameter influences and interactions is cumbersome and the measurement
of quality relevant parameters, especially in the bondline, is difficult. Process simulation
can reduce the effort of parameter studies and contribute to further analysis of
the induction welding process.
The objective of this work is the development of a process variant of induction welding
preventing complete heating of the laminate in thickness direction. For optimal
welding the bondline has to reach the welding temperature whereas the other domains
should remain below the melting temperature of the matrix polymer.
For control of the temperature distribution localized cooling by an impinging jet of
compressed air was implemented. The effect was assessed by static heating experiments
with carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (CF/PEEK) and polyphenylenesulfide
(CF/PPS).
The application of localized cooling could influence the temperature distribution in
thickness direction of the laminate, according to the specifications of the welding
process. The temperature maximum was shifted from the inductor to the opposite side. This enables heating of the laminate to welding temperature in the bondline and
concurrently preventing melting and effects connected to this on the outer surface.
Inductive heating and the process variant with localized cooling were implemented in
three-dimensional finite-element process models. For that purpose, the finiteelement-
software Comsol Multiphysics 4.1 was used for the development of fully
coupled electromagnetic-thermal models which have been validated experimentally.
A sensitivity analysis for determination of different processing parameters of inductive
heating was conducted. The coil current, field frequency, and heat capacity were
identified as significant parameters. The cooling effect of the impinging jets was estimated
by appropriate convection coefficients.
For transfer of the developed process variant to the continuous induction welding
process, a process model was created. It represents a single overlap joint with continuous
feed. With the help of process modeling a parameter set for welding of
CF/PEEK was determined and used for joining of specimens. In doing so, the desired
temperature field was achieved and melting of the outer layers could be prevented.